Diet for Gestational Diabetes - Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention Advice

Diet for gestational diabetes, this article is about the most suitable diet for women suffering from this rare disease, but it also gives information on the symptoms and causes, together with the treatment and prevention.

Diet

• Start the day with a small protein breakfast, for example eggs (not fried), brown bread and peanut butter
• Follow this with a small protein meal after 3 or 4 hours, maybe skinned fish, lean meat, eggs, nuts, cottage cheese, peanut butter
• Plenty of fruit, green and leafy vegetables
• Milk should be taken in moderation and preferably should be skimmed
• Sugar, sweeteners, sweets, pied, cakes, pastries, soft and fizzy drinks, marmalade and jams and cornstarch should be avoided,
• Definitely not allowed are all junk foods, packaged meals, frozen foods, canned fish and soup, butter, cheese, mayonnaise, margarine and thick and sour cream.
• Avoid cooking oils by steaming, baking grilling or boiling

Part of this diet for gestational diabetes is plenty of exercise

Symptoms
In fact symptoms for this type of diabetes are rare but they include, increased thirst, a need to urinate frequently, and extreme tiredness.  Checking  urine for glucose is a routine antenatal test and all mothers to be should have their blood sugar levels checked between 26 and 30 weeks  into pregnancy.  Is such a test identifies a raised glucose lever a more detailed test is recommended.

Why some women develop gestational diabetes and some don’t  is unknown, but the risk is increased if there is a family  history of gestational diabetes, strangely if the mother to be has previously given birth to a large baby (eg over lb9 14), if there has previously been a still birth, the sufferer is overweight or obese or has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Treatment  of Gestational Diabetes
Sufferers will be referred to a specialist clinic and will have more frequent antenatal appointments.  Blood sugar levers must be controlled which means regular test of blood sugar (glucose) levels and a carefully planned diet along the lines of the one already outlined.  Regular but moderate intensity exercise such as walking or cycling can help to reduce blood sugar levers.  About 30 minutes a day that gets the patient slightly breathless is recommended by the Dept of Health.

Prevention
A healthy lifestyle reduces the risk of developing any form of diabetes, as does eat ing a balanced diet and taking  regular exercise and controlling weight which is more easily achieved by following the diet for gestational diabetes.

Sue Roberts

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